Best Small Bandsaw

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xy mosian":37zq1f1m said:
Byron, Sorry I didn't realise your experience. With this machine not good. Axminster have a good reputation, about these parts, and it's always a bit of a shock when people/businesses don't live up to our expectations. I do hope you find a suitable machine soon.
xy

No worries xy - I appreciate any advice on this one, as I was really hoping this small one would be enough as I have modest requirements, but unforunately for whatever reason it seems as though it just isn't up to it. But all credit to axminster though, they are always very helpful on the phone and had no quibbles in coming to collect it - even though I didn't keep the original packaging.

I've since found a video of the AWSBS2 (the same as this) and that seemed to cut really well, so I'm thinking that I have a dodgy one, and I wouldn't rule this one out for others looking to get a small bandsaw, I think i've just been unlucky in getting a friday shift machine.
 
I have an update - and a quandary.

I went out to pack it up ready to be returned, and thought I'd check it over one more time in case I missed something.

Earlier, I watched a video of the older AWSBS2 and noticed the guy in the video changing the belt to a different setting - now although this one isn't advertised as a two-speed, it in fact was!

The muppets at the factory, had set the belt to the slow speed! And because of safety reasons, there is an electrical box screwed to the back of the motor which prevents easy removal and hence the speed-change!

Anyway, with a great deal of hassle, I managed to get the motor loosened enough to move the belt to the small of the wheels, tightened it up and low and behold it now cuts like a proper bandsaw!

Hooray?

Not quite. After about 1 minute of testing, a horrible crunching noise started to come from the inside: the bloody tyre on the bottom wheel has completly come off, and in so doing, ruined a brand new blade (bent it all out of shape).

So, the questions I now have is; do I go to the effort of fixing this tyre issue, and trying to setup the guides (they seem to be now somewhat out of alignment after the clanging noises), or just send it back and buy another?
 
If I were you, I'd let Axminster come and collect the machine from you - you certainly got a bad one!! :shock: Hope they'll still be able to refund you after what's happened since...?

A new tyre may be covered by the warranty but you've still got to fit it; it may need truing and there's no telling what else has gone wrong or what caused this to happen in the first place...

I watched your video last night and it seems like sound kind of fault in the motor. My SIP used to have a slower speed and it would still cut 1in boards without stalling like that.

Then, you can start saving for a real machine - you know it makes sense! :wink:
 
Olly - They should still give me a refund, as it's not my fault the tyre came of! Although it's rather easy for me to just put a spot of contact adhesive on there to glue it on.

I think i'll spend a bit of time on it tomorrow with a new blade before I decide what I'm going to do, it certainly is greatly improved with the increase in speed, but I need to test it further to see if it's worth persevering with.
 
you could alternatively ask them for an exchange - as i said above the awbs2 (which is essentially the same thing) is a nice little saw so long as you dont want to cut much thicker than 3" so if you got a good one you might be happy with it.

it didnt occur to me to mention the speeds before as one assumes that they wood ship it set to fast.

or if you think you need more power ask them to part ex it for a 350 instead - chances are they might give you some discount on the difference to make up for your trouble - axminster are good like that.
 
I have the next model up from you and am really impressed its the
Axminster AWHBS310N Bandsaw and it will cut 4 inch ash easily with a decent blade.

Ian
 
Ok - I've had a great day regarding the bandsaw.

Apart from the 'doh!' moment with fitting the belt onto the right speed (something even the guys at axminster didn't think of), I've tuned the saw to within an inch of its life.

One of the main issues was the lack of solidity and rigidity. When I was trying to cut anything, the whole thing seemed to rack and roll. Due to poor alignment, I couldn't bolt it down to the case on all four sides, and one of the bolts didn't have an opening for an allen key, so I created a new hole and bolted it down.

I also screwed a piece of chipboard across the bearers on my wood floor to reduce any bounciness, and then bolted the case down to this board. This has created a vastly imrpoved rigid platform.

The other thing I did was to place a bag of soil into the bottom of the case to add some extra weight, and vibration dampening - this has had a marked difference! The whole thing runs a lot smoother now, and a lot quieter.

Finally, I removed both wheels, glued the bottom tyre back, and then trued up the tyres with sand-paper to level out the 'bumps' that was making the blade wobble back and fourth.

After a re-alignment of the guides, squaring up of the table, and modifications to the mitre-guage, I now have an accurate and useful machine.

I also changed the blade from the EPS 1/4 to the Axcalibur 1/2 - this was a dramatic improvement. I think the wider blade improves the stability and cuts better - I won't be buying EPS blades again. I'll stick with Axcalibur, and I'll be ordering some thin material blades from Tuffsaws.

After all that lengthy-ness, here are some photo's of the mods, and a video showing me cutting some 35mm mahogany, and 56mm beech. The video is poor quality because I was cutting and filming with each hand - and the feed-speed of the cutting was slow because I didn't want to stress the blade too much as I hadn't waited too long for the glue on the bottom tyre to set.

Video:



Photos:
IMG_0313.jpg


IMG_0312.jpg


IMG_0315.jpg


IMG_0316.jpg


So, my conclusion: Spend some time setting it up - make sure the dudes at the factory have set the belt on the right setting, and use a 1/2 blade. Also, make sure that you weigh the case down, or make sure it's on a rigid floor/base and you should get some excellent results.

I'll be keeping this for a while and really testing it out. I can't afford to upgrade or buy another for a while as my washing machine has broke, and my head-gasket blew this morning, so its been an expensive day, but now that I have fixed it up and got it working well, I am really pleased.

So the saga ends.
 
Well, it looks like you've done very well indeed! Hopefully, this thread will helps others as well, when it comes to sorting out second-hand machinery. Adding that extra weight in to the base unit is a great idea.
 
OPJ":dbqsmgb2 said:
Well, it looks like you've done very well indeed! Hopefully, this thread will helps others as well, when it comes to sorting out second-hand machinery. Adding that extra weight in to the base unit is a great idea.

I am surprised by how much of a difference the bag of soil made. The cabinet base is quite flimsy, and the bandsaw itself is very light, so it was quite easy for it judder about when under pressure. The soil 'grounds' the cabinet base, and helps with vibrations. It runs a lot quieter now, and it was a revelation when I first tried it on the thick beech! I imagine its going to be even better with a Tuffsaws blade.

Given these setup issues, I would still recommend anyone looking for a small bandsaw to consider this one, as long as you aware of a few setup requirements to get the best out of it.
 
I have just seen the video.

And this is the same bandsaw???? :D

Well done Byron, don't life feel good when you sort out an awkward problem?

xy

ps. Sorry to hear of your other troubles :(
 
xy mosian":35gp8mfx said:
I have just seen the video.

And this is the same bandsaw???? :D

Well done Byron, don't life feel good when you sort out an awkward problem?

xy

ps. Sorry to hear of your other troubles :(

Cheers xy - these things are sent to test us I suppose :) But at least I have the bandsaw up and running. It actually gets better, I've successfully since the video managed to re-saw some 3.5" hard maple guitar neck blanks without too much bother. I imagine it will be even better when I install a tuffsaws blade, but I am impressed with the axcalibur (cuts are very straight with it).
 
Glad you got it sorted Byron a friend of mine bought the same saw and we had similar problems it was a bloody pain in the a** to sort out it took me at least an hour makes you wonder how many Axminster get taken back after all we shouldn't have to work that hard to get something brand new to work properly!
 
ByronBlack":3lmued5o said:
I am impressed with the axcalibur (cuts are very straight with it).
Despite some naysayers, I've always used the Ax blades and have found them very good...they're even better now that a new state of the art welder has been installed - Rob
 

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